As we have now entered into the month of Ellul, I will be turning to the Chalban's work on the holidays of the coming month for source material for the next month or so.
The month of Tishrei is a very powerful and lofty month. It is filled with love and spiritual connection. We go from success to success - from anointing God as King and blowing the Shofar, to Kol Nidre, to the amazing days of Sukkah building, and then entering into God's protective quarters the holy, sweet Sukkah, the light of holy friendship, the Lulav and Hoshanoth, and the rejoicing of the Water Drawing. We conclude with the finale of Simchat Torah.
Why did God see fit to compress so many holidays into such a short period of time? Would it not have been better to scatter them through the year rather than having a lengthy holiday season. Scattered holidays which would have caused that people would be more excited for each holiday. If someone has a lot of candy, does he eat it all at one time? He will eat each one at a different time! Similarly, it is difficult to get excited about each of these holidays that arrive consecutively. If there had been a break between them, we could approach each one with more enthusiasm and calm, from both a physical as well as spiritual perspective. Why then do they arrive one after the other? Before the sound of the Shofar stops echoing in our ears, we are already hearing the singing of מי פי קל!
The Ariza"l teaches us the concepts behind these holy days. He leads us through the order of these days, and reveals to us the depth of meaning of these days and why they must be specifically at these times and in such close order. It is clear that the days from Rosh HaShana until Shemini Atzeret are all cut from the same cloth, such that each one builds on that which precedes it. The blowing of the Shofar is not disconnected from the Fast of Yom Kippur. Nor is the Fast disconnected from the Sukkah and Lulav. Together, they form one complete building.
The Ariza"l teaches that these are the days in which the Schechinah, which represents the entire Jewish Nation, is birthed and fully built. As Kabbalistic works teach us, each year the Knesseth Yisroel (i.e. the Schechinah), the Nukvah (feminine) is rebuilt. Each year there is a New World which stands on its own. Each year the heart of the world is rebuilt, in the first days of the year the soul of the year, the light of the Schechinah, the Knesseth Yisroel is reborn. The consecutive days of High Holy Days are this building process, and the establishment of the spirituality that will thereby be bestowed upon the world in the coming year.
The month of Tishrei is a very powerful and lofty month. It is filled with love and spiritual connection. We go from success to success - from anointing God as King and blowing the Shofar, to Kol Nidre, to the amazing days of Sukkah building, and then entering into God's protective quarters the holy, sweet Sukkah, the light of holy friendship, the Lulav and Hoshanoth, and the rejoicing of the Water Drawing. We conclude with the finale of Simchat Torah.
Why did God see fit to compress so many holidays into such a short period of time? Would it not have been better to scatter them through the year rather than having a lengthy holiday season. Scattered holidays which would have caused that people would be more excited for each holiday. If someone has a lot of candy, does he eat it all at one time? He will eat each one at a different time! Similarly, it is difficult to get excited about each of these holidays that arrive consecutively. If there had been a break between them, we could approach each one with more enthusiasm and calm, from both a physical as well as spiritual perspective. Why then do they arrive one after the other? Before the sound of the Shofar stops echoing in our ears, we are already hearing the singing of מי פי קל!
The Ariza"l teaches us the concepts behind these holy days. He leads us through the order of these days, and reveals to us the depth of meaning of these days and why they must be specifically at these times and in such close order. It is clear that the days from Rosh HaShana until Shemini Atzeret are all cut from the same cloth, such that each one builds on that which precedes it. The blowing of the Shofar is not disconnected from the Fast of Yom Kippur. Nor is the Fast disconnected from the Sukkah and Lulav. Together, they form one complete building.
The Ariza"l teaches that these are the days in which the Schechinah, which represents the entire Jewish Nation, is birthed and fully built. As Kabbalistic works teach us, each year the Knesseth Yisroel (i.e. the Schechinah), the Nukvah (feminine) is rebuilt. Each year there is a New World which stands on its own. Each year the heart of the world is rebuilt, in the first days of the year the soul of the year, the light of the Schechinah, the Knesseth Yisroel is reborn. The consecutive days of High Holy Days are this building process, and the establishment of the spirituality that will thereby be bestowed upon the world in the coming year.
No comments:
Post a Comment